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skconaghan 's review for:
The Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4-stars for premise, potential, and the unique concept of the conspiracy!
2-stars for the execution….
It grieves me to say so, because these three intertwined stories are so worth telling, and there are unpolished gems buried here.
I am inclined to blame the poor choices of an editor…
Chock full of flat stereotypes, an implausibly naive main character, and awkwardly predictable from the get-go, this mystery reads in places like juvenile YA romance and more often like rushed historical fiction with a light brushing of modern thriller—even though we’ve already sussed the outcome from the start. Relationships are forged on shallow declarations such as ‘you’re a good person’ and ’you’re not a bad kid’ but for the most part, this poor man is treated abominably by 99.99% of the people he meets. And at times we rage and curse the people of this evil world for him, because he sure never does.
There are two (maybe three) people in his life that actually show some love for him—and one isn’t his mother (you might think that would be a guarantee in a boy’s life). But this mother treats her son like a work-dog, and how he doesn’t hate her I don’t know, she gives him ample reason. Actually, it’s a miracle that this boy has avoided becoming a quietly raging sociopath woman-hater having been treated this way all his life. But he takes it all as though it’s normal, and when his aunt tells him his mom is a ‘good person’ —despite ALL evidence against that—he just accepts it as maybe he’s not seeing things in the right light. Ho hum. She might be great to anyone and everyone else, not that we see even a mere glimmer of this suggested pleasantry, but to her own boy, she is vile and toxic. And we’re given no reason as to why she might default to this ugliness of character—though I can think of several plausible causes—making it difficult to be as gracious to her as her son is, or to bring any kind of perspective to her situation.
The Author’s note was far better written, of superior interest, and more emotionally engaging than the whole novel. I’d like to read this author’s memoir—and he should narrate it himself for the audiobook—he has a smooth intonation, a lovely reading voice. HIS is the story this one should have been. 5-stars for the author’s note. I’m awaiting that biography…
Don’t get me wrong. I liked it. But for all the potential, it should have been a 5-star review I was writing here, and I just couldn’t.
2-stars for the execution….
It grieves me to say so, because these three intertwined stories are so worth telling, and there are unpolished gems buried here.
I am inclined to blame the poor choices of an editor…
Chock full of flat stereotypes, an implausibly naive main character, and awkwardly predictable from the get-go, this mystery reads in places like juvenile YA romance and more often like rushed historical fiction with a light brushing of modern thriller—even though we’ve already sussed the outcome from the start. Relationships are forged on shallow declarations such as ‘you’re a good person’ and ’you’re not a bad kid’ but for the most part, this poor man is treated abominably by 99.99% of the people he meets. And at times we rage and curse the people of this evil world for him, because he sure never does.
There are two (maybe three) people in his life that actually show some love for him—and one isn’t his mother (you might think that would be a guarantee in a boy’s life). But this mother treats her son like a work-dog, and how he doesn’t hate her I don’t know, she gives him ample reason. Actually, it’s a miracle that this boy has avoided becoming a quietly raging sociopath woman-hater having been treated this way all his life. But he takes it all as though it’s normal, and when his aunt tells him his mom is a ‘good person’ —despite ALL evidence against that—he just accepts it as maybe he’s not seeing things in the right light. Ho hum. She might be great to anyone and everyone else, not that we see even a mere glimmer of this suggested pleasantry, but to her own boy, she is vile and toxic. And we’re given no reason as to why she might default to this ugliness of character—though I can think of several plausible causes—making it difficult to be as gracious to her as her son is, or to bring any kind of perspective to her situation.
The Author’s note was far better written, of superior interest, and more emotionally engaging than the whole novel. I’d like to read this author’s memoir—and he should narrate it himself for the audiobook—he has a smooth intonation, a lovely reading voice. HIS is the story this one should have been. 5-stars for the author’s note. I’m awaiting that biography…
Don’t get me wrong. I liked it. But for all the potential, it should have been a 5-star review I was writing here, and I just couldn’t.